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Richard P. Gehrke: Dec. 15, 1923-June 15, 2013

At Richard Gehrke’s funeral at St. Catherine’s Church last Wednesday, Brian Lobo, speaking on behalf of the Knights of Columbus, referred to Dick as someone whose service to others was in keeping with the ethos of the Greatest Generation. Dick was a faithful knight.

Gary Fisher, speaking on behalf of American Legion Post 19, ended his very moving tribute by offering a crisp military salute. Dick was a faithful legionnaire.

Clare and Price Keller, speaking on behalf of Dick’s close friends in the community, described his wit, his sense of humor and his pride in his Irish descent. After visiting the Emerald Isle, he expressed thanks that his ancestors had the good sense to leave. Dick was a faithful friend. And Dick’s daughter Adrienne, speaking for the family, described her father’s devotion to her mother. He and Imogene (Gene) were celebrating their sixtieth wedding anniversary this year.

What I said about Dick Gehrke’s role in World War II may have sounded somewhat familiar to Adrienne who was my student at Columbia State in the late eighties. I always allocated lecture time to that conflict because my father was in the army air corps and my uncle named his B-24 bomber for the English girl he met and married. When at the cemetery Gene and Adrienne said that Dick didn’t talk much about his war experiences, my refrain was, in so many words, that reticence, humility and modesty were characteristic of the veterans of the Greatest Generation.

Dick may have been measured in his remarks and reluctant to say anything that might sound self-serving. However, on those rare occasions when we did talk about it, I could sense the heroic and sacrificing impulse in him. His willingness to talk to me on the subject was likely enhanced by the fact that I am a veteran (a different war) and that my uncle’s B-24 bomber was likely escorted on some missions by the P-38 and P-51 fighters of the 479th.

Dick’s MOS or job in the 479th was radio communications specialist. It was he who “brought in” the fighters after combat sorties. His unit was based in Wattisham, England during the big buildup for the Normandy Invasion of 1944 and he could have remained in the relative safety of the airfield’s tower. Instead, he volunteered for the hazardous duty of missions in the air. Air support by units like the 479th was critical to Allied success on D-Day (June), in the breakout at Saint-Lo (July), and in the liberation of Paris (August). Dick’s unit was likewise heavily involved in Operation Market Garden (September) and the Battle of the Bulge (December).

During the early months of 1945, Dick’s unit was based on the continent where it enjoyed greater range in support of the Allied push across the Rhine and deep into the heart of Germany. After the German surrender, Dick’s unit was scheduled for transfer to the Pacific but the atomic bombings of Japan made such deployment unnecessary.

Claudia and I have known Dick and Gene since they first arrived here three decades ago. Working in local industries as a mechanical and quality control engineer, Dick was by training and instinct a practical problem solver. His interests were broad and his sense of humor was infectious. Holding wide-ranging conversations on every other topic under the sun, he was always fun to be around and he was never reluctant to express an opinion.

In fact, his candor was one of the things that I most enjoyed about Dick. Relatively conservative in political outlook, he would often take me to task when one of my columns promoted an idea with which he disagreed. And yet, he would express his disapproval with a twinkle in the eye, like someone mildly amused by the inconsistencies of thought that would lead another to hold forth on an opinion so fraught with absurdity.

Last month as I was reorganizing many thousands of my photographic slides for scanning and digital archiving, I came across many of the Gehrkes. They appear with smiling faces at church suppers, picnics, religious services, Mule Day gatherings, discussion groups, and dinner parties. In one of the photographs, Dick and Gene are standing with friends in front of the old church on West Seventh. The occasion was their going-away party after they decided to move to coastal Georgia for their retirement years. I can date the picture to the early nineties because Father Bob Roeser is in the shot. Fortunately for our community, the couple decided to return to Columbia a few years later.

The most recent photograph I took of Dick and Gene was at an informal dinner party at the home of Price and Clare Keller. We all had a fun time, as we always do at the Kellers. What I remember most about the occasion is that Dick spoke to me more on the subject of his war experiences than at any other time. It could have been the quality of the wine, or the ambiance, or the trust. It was likely all. In the picture, Dick stands a little to the right, somewhat separated from Clare, Claudia, Gene and Price. He is waving, as if to say goodbye.

Between the funeral and the drive to the cemetery, Claudia and I walked to the chapel where we lit a vigil light for our departed friend. What we offered up was a prayer of petition, an ancient request that has echoed across the millennia: “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.”

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William X. Andrews recently retired from Columbia State where he taught history for 35 years. He resides in Columbia.

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